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Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Tanaka's Problems Continue As Yankees Fall To Bosox

No one likes a broken record. (If you were born in the '90s do you really know what that expression means? I wonder the same thing about "dialing" a telephone.) I'm ready for this record to be grabbed off the turntable and tossed in the trash. That record, of course, is Masahiro Tanaka.

Yeah, he can't be tossed. There's nothing that can be done if he isn't hurt (as I think he is). Or, is there?

Would Tanaka accept an assignment to the minors? Has anyone asked him? It's definitely worth a shot. Really, if he has any of that Asian Honor people keep talking about, he would go. It's pretty clear, though, that he hasn't.

A minor league assignment would open up the rotation for a fresh arm. However, don't be so sure it will be Chance Adams, the minor league flavor of the month. As Chuck Johnson said on Twitter last night, Adams isn't even on the 40-man roster. Too much maneuvering will have to be done to get him on it. Everyone always seems to forget how the 40-man roster works. I have had numerous arguments with people on social media about it, who can never answer this crucial question: Who are you removing from the 40-man roster to get him on it?

It's a tough question to answer. I'm pretty sure the Yankees don't want to think about it right now.

What they should be thinking about is the situation at 1B. Sure, Chris Carter homered last night. Big deal. He just doesn't do it enough to remain in the lineup. I'm hoping Greg Bird flies in by the end of next week. When I heard Tyler Austin was optioned to AAA, I thought it meant Bird's arrival was imminent. But then Joe Girardi said they're waiting for him to play a full nine innings and in back-to-back games. Well, come on, let's do it!

1 comment:

You mention CC at the end of your article and here is someone who had battled injury (knee, mainly), no longer can throw like he did in the past and has made necessary adjustments. The Yankees seem to be loud and clear that Tanaka is not hurt (beyond what they identified about his elbow, which did not require surgery after they thought about it for awhile) Seems if Tanaka is "healthy" it comes down to Tanaka needing some adjustments. One adjustment is to figure how the hitters have gained advantage especially in terms of the ball leaving the yard so much. Can it be done? Who knows? Another issue is Tanaka has pitched better on extra rest (With Monday off Tanaka had extra rest last night so that didn't help this time) Can he ever make the adjustment to the MLB schedule for pitching which is every fifth day? Does he require a particular catcher? Can he adjust to either catcher? The reality is Tanaka is struggling, so much to the point that his opt out clause after this season is becoming irrelevant. The Yankees have Tanaka through 2020. They have to try and figure out something. There is a no trade clause. He cannot be optioned to AAA without his permission. Seems Tanaka and the Yankees have no choice but to try to figure this all out and make whatever adjustments are needed. Sounds simple but probably not. I think they should skip Tanaka in his neat start or more and have him do some bullpen sessions. Chad Green threw 35 pitches in his 3 plus innings last night. He would be in line to throw 75 perhaps, in his next start in five days. Do it, Girardi!!